A round for the house on me!

I'm 70 years old and things are beginning to get "frayed around the
edges" already. As I may have mentioned earlier, my right knee has been
giving me fits for about 6 months. I talked to the knee doctor (I can't
spell "orthopedic surgeon.") Wait...I just did. Anyway, late last March
he did the x-rays and MRI stuff and said he can fix me right up. No
drastic damage, just some torn cartilage. He set me up for surgery on
April 26th.

A week before surgery I noticed a dark area in the vision of my right
eye. I've had 2 detached retinas before, so I know what they look like.
Visited the eye doctor (I can't spell "Ophthalmologist.") Wait...I just
did. It wasn't an emergency type of deal, but he said I need to get it
fixed ASAP. He could get me in in three days. Canceled knee surgery cuz
it requires a week or two of rehab. Ya can't do rehab after detached
retina surgery because it generally requires a week or more of laying in
a particular fashion for 90% of the day. "Why" you ask? They suck out
all the junk in your eye, then go in with tiny instruments and lasers to
tack weld the retina in place. Next, the eyeball is filled with nitrous
oxide. You have to lay so the NO2 bubble will hold the retina in place
while it heals.

The day before eye surgery my body said "OK, I'm gonna fuck with you
some more." I began to pass a kidney stone. Those of you who have been
fortunate enough to experience a kidney stone know how they feel, which
is much like trying to pass a flaming porcupine...only worse.

Day of surgery I felt a bit better. The pain from the stone was
manageable. They put the whammy on me and sent me home to lay on my
right side for a week. Oh joy. Yeehaw. Such fun. All I could do is watch
the TV, and I ended up getting sucked in the Youtube vortex from which I
was nearly unable to escape. I went down that rabbit hole and I watched
hours and hours of dashcam videos, car crashes, airplane crashes, people
freaking out on roller coasters, etc. Saw some movies, too.

It took my eye 19 days to fill itself back up with "stuff," and I have
fine vision again. The only thing that went wrong is my eye is
apparently permanently dilated. I called about that between post-op
visits and he said that is an infrequent downside to that type of
surgery. I'll be wearing sunglasses more than I used to, but it sure
beats losing sight in that eye.

Two weeks after eye surgery I was feeling/seeing fairly well. Still
limping a bit from the chronic knee pain, I went to the porch to help my
lovely and gracious wife bring in her freshly planted petunias before
the predicted rain storms hit. I still lacked a lot of depth perception
cuz of the bubble that was now near the bottom of my field of vision.
Hence, I misjudged a step, took a tumble, and ended up in a tangle of
arms and legs at the bottom of the steps. I apparently wrenched my bad
knee cuz I immediately had a terrific stabbing pain there. Almost made
me cry it hurt so bad. If that was a method of torture, I'd have been
glad to confess to kidnapping the Lindbergh baby in 1932 to get 'em to
stop. Holy shit it was painful. The neighbor heard the ruckus and the
swearing. (My language was so caustic that it nearly denuded all of the
wife's petunias.) He came over to help, and after I took inventory and
saw that everything was still there, he help me up and into the house. I
could have been injured worse, but lucky for me the large, round
decorative stones next to the sidewalk cushioned my fall. Thanks to
those rocks I have bruises up and down one side that look like I had
been used as a backstop for a baseball pitching contest.

Called the knee doctor (I can't spell...well, you know) to tell him I
may have done more damage that he should know about before he worked on
me. I didn't want to surprise him the day of surgery. He said "come on
in." I did. No new damage, just a good ol' fashioned wrenching of the
knee. He said he'll get me back in shape with ease. I go in June 10th
for surgery.

The last few days I've been able to walk without a cane. I hope it
continues to improve and get me back to "pre-fall" condition.

Obviously, Iv'e been unable to ride the bikefor the last couple of
month. I can barely drive the car! But 10 days (+ or -) after knee
surgery I'll be ready to ride. <Fingers crossed>

Thanks for listening, and another round on me.

On 5/15/2021 2:48 PM, Frank Xzarhadjizamtheopolous wrote:
> A round for the house on me!
>
> I'm 70 years old and things are beginning to get "frayed around the
> edges"
>
<< snippage happens >>

> Thanks for listening, and another round on me.

Jeezoos Andy , remind me not to stand next to you during a lightning
storm ! I'll drink yer whiskey , and raise a glass to your quick
recovery and getting back on the road .
I'm managing to stay pretty active despite aches and pains gathered
during a lifetime of abusing my body . The garden is coming along nicely
, bees need occasional attention , and I get some small repairs for
locals that know I have a shop . Nowadays when I ride I'm as likely to
take the trike as to ride the Ultra ...
--
Snag
Race only matters to racists ...

On 5/15/2021 11:13 PM, Snag wrote:
> On 5/15/2021 2:48 PM, Frank Xzarhadjizamtheopolous wrote:
>> A round for the house on me!
>>
>> I'm 70 years old and things are beginning to get "frayed around the
>> edges"
>>
>   << snippage happens >>
>
>> Thanks for listening, and another round on me.
>
>   Jeezoos Andy , remind me not to stand next to you during a lightning
> storm !

Heh. It's raining here right now, with lots of lightning. I'm gonna stay
indoors.

I'll drink yer whiskey , and raise a glass to your quick
> recovery and getting back on the road .

Thanks!

>   I'm managing to stay pretty active despite aches and pains gathered
> during a lifetime of abusing my body . The garden is coming along nicely
> , bees need occasional attention , and I get some small repairs for
> locals that know I have a shop .

Sounds kinda like me. I have lots of things that keep me busy. Until my
knee started acting up I volunteered at our church's thrift shop. I'm
the only male that works there. The little old ladies there (and I'm
older than about half of 'em) call me "He Who Lifts Heavy Things." We
get lots of donations left outside and I was responsible for bringing
them into the store, among other duties as needed and assigned.

Nowadays when I ride I'm as likely to
> take the trike as to ride the Ultra ...

10-4 on the trike. I've been kinda sorta thinking that maybe one is in
my future. We'll see what happens knee-wise in the next couple of
months. Talking Lois into a different bike would be the hard part!

Talk at ya later,

Andy

On 5/15/2021 3:48 PM, Frank Xzarhadjizamtheopolous wrote:
> A round for the house on me!
> I'm 70 years old and things are beginning to get "frayed around the edges" already.

<nips>

> Thanks for listening, and another round on me.

It's not the years, it's the mileage.

<clink>

--
Rand McNally BS#263
Off the wall, Out the door, Down the road...

On 5/17/2021 10:03 AM, Rand McNally wrote:
> On 5/15/2021 3:48 PM, Frank Xzarhadjizamtheopolous wrote:
>> A round for the house on me!
>> I'm 70 years old and things are beginning to get "frayed around the
>> edges" already.
>
> <nips>
>
>> Thanks for listening, and another round on me.
>
> It's not the years, it's the mileage.
>
> <clink>
>
>
10-4 on that!

Andy